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Slovakian
Classics: General State Like all scholarly
disciplines in the Slovakian Republic, the Ancient Greek and Roman Classics come
under the general purview and supervision of the Slovakian Academy of Sciences,
whose headquarters are located in 814 38 Bratislava, Stefanikova 49. The Academy
has its own extensive website containing descriptions of its work and the names
and e-mail addresses of all its associates, in both Slovak and English
Among the several large sections into which the Academy is
divided is that for Society and Culture (Section III). It is this section that
contains the Institutes which, to a greater or lesser extent, deal with
antiquity. The Institutes, their addresses and contact people are as follows:
Archaeological Institute, 949 21 Nitra, Akademicka 2.
Director: Prof. Dr. Alexander Ruttkay, e-mail:
nraurut@savba.sk.
Scientific Council Representative: Doc. Dr. Vaclav Furmanek, e-mail:
nraufurm@savba.sk. Also:
Research Office of the Archaeological Institute, 043 19 Kos(h)ice, Hrnc(h)iarska
13.
Institute of History, 813 64 Bratislava, Klemensova 19.
Director: Dr. Valerian Bystricky, e-mail:
histvabi@savba.sk.
Scientific Council Representative: Dr. Viliam C(h)ic(h)aj, e-mail:
histcica@savba.sk
Institute of Oriental and African Studies, 813 64
Bratislava, Klemensova 19. Director: Doc. Dr. Karol Sorby, e-mail:
kaorkaso@savba.sk . Scientific
Council Representative: Dr. Dus(h)an Magdalen, e-mail:
kaorduma@savba.sk
Institute of Art History, 841 04 Bratislava 4, Dubravska
Cesta 9. Director: Prof. Dr. Jan Bakos(h), e-mail:
dejubaja@savba.sk .
Scientific Council Representative: Dr. Ivan Gerat, e-mail:
dejugera@savba.sk
Institute of Philosophy, 813 64 Bratislava, Klemensova 19.
Director: Prof. Dr. Tibor Pichter, e-mail:
filotrpr@savba.sk
. Scientific Council Representative: Dr. Karol Kollar, e-mail:
filosekr@savba.sk
Institute of State and Law, 813 64 Bratislava, Klemensova
19. Director: Dr. Dus(h)an Nikodym, e-mail:
usapnikod@savba.sk.
Scientific Council Representative: Dr. Zuzana Magurova, e-mail:
usapmagu@savba.sk
Institute of Theatre and Film, 841 04 Bratislava,
Dubravska Cesta 9. Director: Doc. Dr. Milos(h) Mistrik, e-mail:
milos.mistrik@savba.sk .
Scientific Council Representative: Dr. Dagmar Podmakova, e-mail:
dagmar.podmakova@savba.sk
Institute of World Literature, 813 64 Bratislava,
Konventova 13. Director: Dr. Jan Kos(h)ka, e-mail:
usvlkos@savba.sk
. Scientific Council Representative: Dr. Michaela Chorvatova, e-mail:
michaelal@telecom.sk
Ludovit Stur Institute of Languages, 813 64 Bratislava,
Panska 26, Director: Doc. Dr. Slavomir Ondrejovic(h), e-mail:
slavod@juls.savba.sk. Scientific
Council Representative: Dr. Jana Skladana, e-mail:
jankas@juls.savba.sk
The Academy likewise publishes a number of periodicals
that, among other topics, contain materials relating to Greek and Roman
antiquity. These are ARS, Asian and African Studies, AVANS,
Historia, Historicky C(h)asopis (Historical Journal),
Slovenska Archeologia (Slovakian Archaeology), Slovenska Numizmatika (Slovakian
Numismatics), S(h)tudijne Zvesti (Scholarly News), Filozofia(Philosophy), Pravny
Obzor (Law Review), Jazykovedny C(h)asopis (Linguistic Journal)
and Kultura Slova (The Culture
of the Word).
The teaching institutions in Slovakia which offer programs
in Ancient Greek and Roman/Latin Studies are fewer than those in the Czech
Republic, though the two countries, now politically separated, continue to work
together in many endeavors, not the least academic. Thus Classics professionals
from each of the recently divided Republics occasionally serve as visiting
teachers in the other, and the close linguistic and cultural ties of the two
countries reinforce these kinds of co-operation. But several distinguished
universities in Slovakia preserve their independent heritage and maintain their
own individual academic programs. Among these the best known is Comenius
University in Bratislava. Here the Classics programs are for the most part
concentrated in the Faculty of Philosophy (818 01 Bratislava, Gondova 2) with
strong departments in Archaeology/Classical Archaeology (e-mail:
eduard.krekovic@fphil.uniba.sk)
, Classical and Semitic Philology (e-mail:
kksf@fphil.uniba.sk
), History of Creative Art (e-mail:
kdvu@fphil.uniba.sk
), Comparative Religious Studies, Philosophy and the History of Philosophy
(e-mail:
kfdf@fphil.uniba.sk ), and Universal History
(e-mail:
kvd@fphil.uniba.sk ). Within the Faculty of
Pharmacology (832 32 Bratislava, Odbojarov 10) there is a Department of
Languages (e-mail:
ozabalova@fpharm.uniba.sk
) and Latin is a required course. The Faculty of Law (818 05 Bratislava,
S(h)afar(zh)ikovo Nam. 6), in its Department of the History of Law, offers
courses in the legal history of antiquity and Roman law. The Evangelical
Theological Faculty (811 02 Bratislava, Bartokova 8) provides courses dealing
with the Early Christian (and thus definitely Classical) era in its Departments
of the New Testament, Church History, and Philosophy/Religious Studies.
One of the largest Faculties at Comenius University is the
Roman Catholic Cyril and Methodius Theological Faculty (814 58 Bratislava,
Kapitulska 26). Within this Faculty the departments of particular interest for
the study of antiquity are those of Philosophy (e-mail:
fronc@ksnr.sk) with a full range of offerings in
ancient and medieval philosophy; Biblical Studies (e-mail:
vojtko@frcth.uniba.sk
) providing courses in the Old and New Testaments, Hebrew, Biblical Greek,
Latin, and Biblical Archaeology); and Church History (e-mail:
judak@ksnr.sk
), which, among others, covers not just a broad range of topics dealing with all
aspects of Church History, but more specialized areas such as Patrology,
Christian Archaeology, Sacral Art and Hagiography. Finally there is the
Department of Liturgics, which, virtually by definition, extensively works with
materials in Latin and Greek. Affiliated with the Roman Catholic Cyril and
Methodius Theological Faculty are three other Theological Institutes whose
programs involve the ancient languages. These are the Theological Institute in
Nitra at the St. Gorazd Seminary (949 01 Nitra, Samova 14), the St. Francis
Xavier Theological Seminary in Badin (976 32 Badin, Banska 28) and the St.
Thomas Aquinas Institute in Z(h)ilina (010 01 Z(h)ilina, Rajecka 17, e-mail:
ita@za.sanet.sk
).
Besides the "flagship"campus at Comenius University in
Bratislava, several other Slovakian higher education establishments provide
substantial programs in the Classics. In the Faculty of Humanistic Studies at
Trnava University (918 43 Trnava, Hornopotoc(h)na 23) there is a large
(eleven-person) Department of Classical Languages with offerings in Classical,
Medieval and Neo - Latin, Latin for Historians, Greek, Linguistics, the standard
Classical authors, Ancient Historiographers, the Theory of Ancient Literature,
and Christian Historiography vs,. the Pagan World. This department, like the
Department of Classical Archaeology (another large subdivision with a full-time
staff of eight), has included among its professors visiting scholars from both
the Czech Republic as well as elsewhere in Slovakia (e.g., Prof. Dr. Jan Burian,
Prof. Dr. Radislav Hos(h)ek, Prof. Dr. Daniel S(h)koviera, and Doc. Dr. Marie
Dufkova). Within the Humanistic Studies Faculty there is likewise a Department
of Philosophy, presumably with offerings in Ancient Philosophy, and a Department
of History, with subsections in Universal History, the Auxiliary Sciences of
History, and the Institute of Christian Culture; in these subdivisions are to be
found courses on antiquity and the Middle Ages, Church History, Patristics, Art
History, and the Philosophy of History.
At Pavol Jozef S(h)afarik University (041 80 Kos(h)ice,
S(h)robarova 2) Latin (and, as necessary, Medical Terminology) is taught for the
Faculties of Medicine, Law, Natural Sciences and Public Administration by a
staff of five instructors from the Department of Foreign Languages (e-mail:
deplang@kosice.upjs.sk
).
The Chair of the Department, Doc. Dr. Frantis(h)ek
S(h)imon (e-mail:
simonf@kosice.upjs.sk
), has a split appointment, teaching additionally at Pres(h)ov University.
Within the Faculty of Law at S(h)afarik University there is a Department for the
History of State and Law, which no doubt touches upon ancient law in Greece and
Rome. Also affiliated with S(h)afarik University is the Christian Academy, with
its likely courses in the Ancient Languages, the Bible and Church History.
As just mentioned, Latin (and Greek as well), is taught at
Pres(h)ov University, in the Faculty of Philosophy, Department of Romance and
Classical Philology (080 78 Presov, Ul 17 Novembra 1, e-mail:
krakf@unipo.sk ). The
teaching is handled by a team of four instructors, including Dr. S(h)imon.
The same Faculty of Philosophy in Pres(h)ov houses the
Department of Philosophy (e-mail:
gluchman@unipo.sk)
, which is particularly strong in the history of philosophy; the Department of
Universal History (e-mail:
mojdis@unipo.sk) with components
in ancient and medieval history; and the Department of Aesthetics and Art
(e-mail:
cervenak@unipo.sk )
There is also a substantial presence of Ancient Studies
programs in the Faculty of Philosophy at the University of Constantine the
Philosopher, 949 74 Nitra, S(h)tefanikova 67, e-mail:
dekanatff@ukf.sk Within
this Faculty the Department of Philosophy (949 74 Nitra, Hodz(h)ova 4, e-mail:
joziza@ff.ukf.sk ) has courses
in the History of Ancient, Early Christian, Medieval and Renaissance Philosophy,
with more in-depth offerings on Empedocles, the Post-Eleatics, Epicurus, the
Pre-Socratics, Plato, Plotinus and Aristotle. In the same Philosophy Faculty the
Department of History provides courses in Classical Archaeology, the History of
Ancient Greece and Rome (including Roman-Barbarian Relations), the Universal
History of the Early Middle Ages and General Medieval History (476-1648 AD), the
Auxiliary Sciences of History, Historiography, and the History of Culture. The
History Department even has a specially designated "Latin Expert" in Mgr.
Emanuel Jirkal. Additional foreign language instruction is available in the
Department of Foreign Languages of the Faculty of Pedagogy (949 01 Nitra,
Piaristicka 10, e-mail:
emala@ukf.sk
).
The Matej Bel University in Banska Bystrica includes, in
its Faculty of Humanistic Studies, a Department of History (974 01 Banska
Bystrica, Ul. Tajovskeho 40, e-mail:
khi@fhv.umb.sk
) in which courses are offered on the History of Historiography; the Theory of
History; the Philosophy of History; Historiography in Ancient Greece, Rome and
the Middle Ages; the History of Ancient Greece and Rome (including readings from
ancient sources); the History of Art (Architecture, Sculpture, Painting); the
History of Demography (including Greece and Rome); the History of Geography
(including the Limes Romanus ); Latin and the Reading of Medieval Latin
Sources; Forms of Rule/Authority in Ancient Greece and Rome; Ancient Mythology;
the Preservation of the Cultural Heritage; the Auxiliary Sciences of History
(including Palaeography, Codicology, Epigraphy, Latin Printing Types,
Sphragistics, Numismatics); the Ancient History of the Near East (Mesopotamia,
Egypt, Palestine, Phoenicia, the Hittites, Lydians, Phrygians, Persians and
Scythians); the History of Early Medieval Europe, the Viking Expansion and
Byzantium; the Social History of Daily Life (including antiquity); the History
of Latin Schools in Slovakia; the History of Schools and Education (including
Gymnasiology). Elsewhere within the Faculty of Humanistic Studies at Matej Bel
University there is a large Department of Philosophical Sciences, which no doubt
touches on the study of antiquity. A separate Faculty, that of Philosophy,
includes the Department of Romance Languages (975 53 Banska Bystrica, Ruz(h)ova
11), in which Latin can be studied. Finally ancient law is dealt with in the
Department for the History of State and Law in the Faculty of Law (974 01 Banska
Bystrica, Komenskeho 20).
Finally there are several institutions that provide
instruction in various aspects of Greco-Roman antiquity without mentioning these
subjects specifically in their campus publicity. Thus, for example, the Catholic
University (034 01 Ruz(h)omberk) lists, within its Faculty of Philosophy, such
departments as Philosophy, History, and Creative Art , and we may reasonably
assume that these instructional areas have ancient components among their
offerings.
To sum up, in the Slovakian Republic, there are , if not
many, at least several highly regarded programs dealing with the ancient world,
conducted by distinguished faculty members for well-qualified students who show
great promise for maintaining, in the years to come, the strong Classical
tradition that has evolved over the centuries. |